Key Holder

ABSTRACT

A key holder includes a U-shaped rod structure. The rod structure has first and second generally-straight parallel side rod sections that extend from opposite ends of an outwardly-bowed bridging rod section. A key hook is permanently connected to a distal end of the first side section. An ornament is permanently connected to the second side section.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/919,494, filed Aug. 17, 2004, hereby incorporated herein byreference, and of U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/285,165,filed Mar. 22, 2007, hereby incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to key holders and to toys.

BACKGROUND

A prior art key holder is typically carried out of sight, within apurse. A user seeking to locate the key holder must ruffle through thepurse to find it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a side view of a first key holder (or “key locator”), shownpartially disassembled.

FIG. 1B is a rear view of a portion of the holder.

FIG. 1C is a side view of the holder, shown totally assembled.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder hanging on a purse, as viewedfrom outside the purse.

FIG. 3 is a view of the holder hanging on the purse, as viewed frominside the purse.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second key holder that includes ateddy bear.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the second holder, showing the teddy bear'sarms and legs in a different orientation than in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a third key holder that is similar to thesecond key holder but with a toy rabbit in place of the teddy bear, withparts labeled with primed reference numerals that correspond toreference numerals of corresponding parts of the second key holder.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, showing the rabbit's arms and legsin a different orientation than in FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION

The apparatus shown in the figures has parts that are examples of theelements recited in the claims. The apparatus thus includes examples ofhow a person of ordinary skill in the art can make and use the claimedinvention. It is described here to meet the requirements of enablementand best mode without imposing limitations that are not specified in theclaims.

First Example

FIGS. 1A and 2C show a first example of a key locator 10. The keylocator 10 comprises interlocking first and second members 12 and 14.Each of the first and second members 12, 14 is preferably of steel orother metal, although plastic or other rigid elastomeric material may beemployed.

The second member 14 includes a clasp 16 that is preferably rotatablyengaged by a swivel joint 13 to an inverted U-shaped element 18. TheU-shaped element 18 is configured to engage a hook 20 at one end of thefirst member 12 to provide flexible pivotable engagement of the members12 and 14.

The first member 12 includes a U-shaped interior region 22. Its opposedend, as shown in FIG. 1B, comprises an enlarged region 24 that serves asan ornament mounting pad for permanent affixation of a decorativeornament 26. The ornament 26, comprising a flower-like shape as shown inthe drawings but not limited thereto, is arranged to face away from theinterior of the first member 12 with its back portion 28 preferablypermanently fixed to the enlarged region 24 of the member by solder orthe like.

The key locator 10 is shown in FIG. 2B hung from the upper edge 29 of aside panel 30 of a bag-like purse 32 with the U-shaped region 22overhanging the side panel 30 so that the face of the ornament 26 isexposed. This provides the user with an attractive adjunct to the purse32 that serves the additional function of readily locating the keylocator 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, keys 34 can be secured by the clasp 16 of the secondmember 14. They are shown lying near or at the bottom 36 of the bag-likepurse 32, somewhat suspended from the upper edge 29 of the side panel30. The U-shaped interior region 22 of the first member 12 of the keylocator 10, as mentioned above, is draped or hung over the upper edge 29to create the suspension effect. The height of the bottom of the keylocator 10 and keys 34 will depend upon the length of the key locator 10relative to the depth of the side panel 30 of the bag-like purse 32.However, regardless of the precise height of the keys 34 within thepurse 32, they may be readily located due to the visible presence of theornament 26.

Thus, the present invention provides a key locator especially suitablefor use with a purse, backpack, briefcase or other bag-like device. Byemploying the key locator in conjunction with such a device, one mayquickly find keys stored in the device. Further, by providing adecorative ornament for indicating the location of the key locator, theappearance of the bag is enhanced.

In this example, the first member 12 is formed from a one-piececylindrical rod that is bent to yield first and second straight parallelrod sections extending from opposite ends of a U-shaped rod section 22.The rod's hook section 20 extends from a distal end of the firststraight section, and the enlarged region 24 adjoins the distal end ofthe second straight section. The first element's first and secondsections, U-shaped section 22 and hook section 20 all share a commoncross-sectional size and shape. Since, in this example, they are allformed from the same cylindrical rod, they all have a roundcross-section with a common diameter. The first and second straightsections are parallel and spaced apart so as not to grasp the side panel30, but to remain in place over the purse panel 30 through gravity.

Second and Third Examples

FIGS. 4-5 show a second key holder 101. As shown in FIG. 5, the secondholder 101 includes a U-shaped rod structure 110 formed preferably froma cylindrical metal rod that is bent to yield first and secondgenerally-straight parallel side sections 111 and 112 that extend fromopposite ends of a bridging section 114. In this example, thegenerally-straight side sections 111 and 112 are totally straight. Thebridging section 114, including its upper and lower edges 114 a, 114 b,is bowed outward (i.e., bowed away from the side sections 111, 112,which is upward with respect to the rod structure's orientation shown inFIG. 5) and preferably circular. The first side section 111 is longerthan the second side section 112. A hook section 116 extends from adistal end 111a of the first side section 111. These sections 111, 112,114 and 116 all share a common cross-sectional size and shape. Since, inthis example, they are all formed from the same cylindrical rod, theyall have a round cross-section with a common diameter.

A closable clasp 120 (like the clasp 16 of FIG. 1A) can be used to holdkeys. It is attached to the distal end 111 a of the first side section111 by both a swivel junction 121 and a pivot junction 122. The swiveljunction 121 enables the clasp 120 to rotate 360 degrees relative to thefirst rod section 111. The pivot junction 122, comprising a loop 123hooked by the hook section 116, enables the clasp 120 to swing in anydirection relative to the first side section 111.

The clasp 120 has a round key hook 124 and a key hook opening 125through which keys 150 can be strung onto the key hook 124. A closingbar 126 is spring-biased into a closed position that closes the clasp120 by blocking the opening 124 to prevent the keys from slipping offthe key hook 124. The closing bar 126 can be pivoted, about a pivot pin128, away from its closed position by manually pressing a release lever129 adjoined to the closing bar 126.

An ornamental toy 130 is permanently attached to a distal end 112 a ofthe second side section 112. The attachment means can entail sewing thetoy 130 to the side section 112, such as with thread that is sewn intothe toy 130 and looped securely about the side section 112, or byattaching or adhering (such as with glue) the toy 130 to a disk-shapedexpanded attachment piece 134 (like the enlarged region 24 of FIG. 1A).

The toy 130 can be a stuffed animal. It is a teddy bear in the secondkey holder 101 of FIGS. 4-5. It is a rabbit 130′ in the third key holder101′ of FIGS. 6-7. These stuffed animals 130, 130′ are ornaments. Theyare also toys, in that they have re-orientable parts that can bemanually moved by a child to, and remain in, different orientations. Inthese examples, the re-orientable parts of each toy 130, 131′ are thetoy's arms 140 and legs 142 that are pivotably attached to the toy'storso 144. This re-orientation capability is exemplified by comparisonof FIG. 4 to FIG. 5 and of FIG. 6 to FIG. 7. In these examples, the head146, 146′ of each toy can be manually rotated about its neck 148, 148′,but will return to its original orientation when released. The toy 130,130′ is positioned on the opposite side of the second side section 112from the first side section 111 and faces away from the first sidesection 111. Both the bottom of the toy 130 and the bottom 112 a of thesecond side section 112 are higher than the clasp 120 and its key hook124. This prevents the keys 150 from knocking the toy 140 or the secondside section 112, and also prevents the toy 130 and the side section 112from getting in the way of the keys 150 when the keys are being used toopen a lock.

The key holder 101 can be hung onto the purse panel 30 of FIG. 2. Thefirst and second side sections 111 and 112 are parallel and spaced apartso as not to grasp the panel 30. This facilitates both hanging theholder 110 onto the panel 30 and removing it from the panel 30. Theholder 101 remains in its hung position through gravity. Because the rodstructure 110 does not grasp whatever it is hanging on, there is nobenefit for it to have flat panel-engaging surfaces to distribute agrasping force across a surface area, and also no benefit in thestructure 110 being elastic. The structure 110 is instead preferablycylindrical, rigid and inelastic. The structure 110 is sufficientlyrigid such that manually squeezing its side sections 111 and 112together would exceed its elastic limit, beyond which the structure 110will break or otherwise not return to its initial shape.

When the holder 101 is hung on the purse panel 30, the key clasp 120 andkeys 150, which are generally utilitarian and unattractive and a targetfor thieves, are out of sight within the purse. In contrast, the toy,which is ornamental and less of a target to thieves, is exposed. Thisenables a user to quickly visually locate the key holder 110 with itskeys 150, despite keeping the keys out of sight.

The key holder 101 can be hung also onto other items, such as a peg 152(shown sectioned in FIG. 5) extending horizontally from a wall. Thespacing between the side sections 111 and 112 is sufficiently large,preferably more than 0.5, 1 or 1.5 cm, to accommodate a wide range ofpeg diameters. Since the bridging section's bottom edge 114 b isrounded, preferably even circular, the peg 140 is likely to be spacedfrom both side sections 111 and 112. If the holder 110, together withits keys 150, is sufficiently balanced, the peg 140 will engage thecenter 154, or apex, of the bridging section's bottom edge 114 b.

The toy 130 facilitates finding the key holder 101 when the key holder101 is lost. Children will be more interested in helping to find it thanif it lacked the toy 130, since they will be looking for a lost toyinstead of just a lost keychain. The children will also be more likelyto remember where they saw it last or played with it last. There-orientable parts of the toy 130 spark a child's interest. Without there-orientable parts, it would be just an ornament, which is much lessattractive, interesting and memorable to a child.

The rod structure 110 can be made of plastic or a metal, including ametal selected from steel, aluminum, nickel, and their alloys.

The second key holder 101 provides examples of the following features: AU-shaped rod structure 110 has first and second generally-straightparallel rod sections 111 and 112 that extend from opposite ends of anoutwardly-bowed bridging rod section 114. A key hook 124 is permanentlyconnected to a distal end 111 a of the first side section 111. Anornament 130 is permanently connected to the second parallel section112.

In this example: The ornament 130 is a toy, such as a stuffed animal,with parts, such as arms 140 and legs 142, that are manuallyre-orientable by a child. The key hook 124 is connected to the firstparallel section 111 by a swivel junction 121 enabling the key hook 124to rotate 360 degrees relative to the first side section 111. The keyhook 124 is also connected to the first side section 111 by a pivotjunction 122 enabling the key hook 124 to pivot in any directionrelative to the first side section 111. The key hook 124 is below boththe first side section 111 and the ornament 130. The key hook 124 ispart of a closable key clasp 120 that is permanently connected to thedistal end 111a of the first side section 111. The rod sections 111, 112and 114 are formed from a single bent cylindrical rod. The first andsecond side sections 111,112 are spaced more than 0.5 cm apart.

In another example not shown, one or both of the generally-straight siderod sections 111, 112 are not totally straight in that they include asmall protrusion from the side rod or a small bend in the side rod. Ifthe protrusion or bend is directed toward the other side rod, it reducesthe extent to which rod structure 110 can sway when hanging onto thepanel 30, but does not negate the “generally-straight” character of therespective side section. Even if the bend is sufficiently large tonegate the “generally-straight” character of the first side rod 111, thegenerally-straight side section 111 would then extend from the bridgingsection 114 down to its distal 111 a, which in this case would be at thebend. The distal end 111 a would then be connected to the clasp 120 bynot only the swivel junction and the pivot junction (as in the aboveexamples) but also by the remainder of the rod, from the bend downward.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including best mode, and to enable any person skilled in the art to makeand use the invention. The patentable scope of the invention is definedby the claims, and may include other examples that occur to thoseskilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within thescope of the claims if they have elements that do not differ from theliteral language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structuralelements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of theclaims.

1. A key holder comprising: a U-shaped rod structure that includes firstand second generally-straight parallel rod sections that extend fromopposite ends of an outwardly-bowed bridging rod section; a key hookpermanently connected to a distal end of the first side section; and anornament permanently connected to the second straight rod section. 2.The holder of claim 1 wherein the ornament is a toy with parts that aremanually re-orientable by a child.
 3. The holder of claim 1 wherein theornament is a stuffed animal.
 4. The holder of claim 3 wherein thestuffed animal has re-orientable arms.
 5. The holder of claim 1 whereinthe key hook is connected to the first side section by a swivel junctionenabling the key hook to rotate 360 degrees relative to the first sidesection.
 6. The holder of claim 1 wherein the key hook is connected tothe first side section by a pivot junction enabling the key hook topivot in all directions relative to the first side section.
 7. Theholder of claim 1 wherein the key hook is below the first side section.8. The holder of claim 7 wherein the key hook is also below theornament.
 9. The holder of claim 1 wherein the key hook is part of aclosable key clasp that is permanently coupled to the distal end of thefirst side section.
 10. The holder of claim 1 wherein the side andbridging sections are formed from a single bent cylindrical rod.
 11. Theholder of claim 1 wherein the rod structure is sufficient rigid suchthat squeezing the side sections together would exceed the rodstructure's elastic limit.
 12. The holder of claim 1 wherein the firststraight section is longer than the second side section.
 13. The holderof claim 1 wherein the first and second side sections are spaced morethan 0.5 cm apart.
 14. The holder of claim 1 wherein the first andsecond side sections are totally straight.
 15. The holder of claim 1wherein the first and second side sections are not totally straight. 16.A key holder comprising: a U-shaped structure that includes first andsecond parallel side sections that extend from opposite ends of abridging section and that are permanently spaced more than 0.5 cm apart;a key clasp permanently connected to a distal end of the first sidesection; and a toy, with parts that are manually re-orientable by achild, permanently connected to the second side section.
 17. The holderof claim 16 wherein the toy is a toy stuffed animal.
 18. The holder ofclaim 16 wherein the stuffed animal has re-orientable arms.
 19. Theholder of claim 16 wherein the stuffed animal has re-orientable legs.20. The holder of claim 16 wherein the stuffed animal faces away fromthe second side rod section.
 21. The holder of claim 16 wherein the sidesections are generally-straight.
 22. The holder of claim 21 wherein theside sections are totally straight.
 23. A key holder comprising: aU-shaped structure that includes first and second parallelgenerally-straight side sections that extend from opposite ends of abridging section; a key clasp connected to a distal end of the firstside section; and a toy stuffed animal permanently connected to a distalend of the second side section.
 24. The holder of claim 23 wherein thetoy is a teddy bear.
 25. The holder of claim 23 wherein the stuffedanimal faces away from the first side section.